Saturday, December 15, 2012

Yesterday yet another lawsuit was filed by a closely-held business raising religious objections to the mandate under the Affordable Care Act that requires most health insurance policies to include contraceptive coverage. The suit was filed by Domino's Farms Corp. and its sole stockholder, Domino's Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan, alleging that the mandate violates plaintiffs' rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments, RFRA and the Administrative Procedure Act. The complaint (full text) in Domino's Farms Corp. v. Sebelius, (ED MI, filed 12/14/2012) sets out Monaghan's strong Catholic beliefs and his involvement with Catholic organizations, and alleges that he and Domino’s Farms "share a common mission of conducting their business operations with integrity and in compliance with the teachings, mission, and values of the Catholic Church." The complaint elaborates:

Based on the teachings of the Catholic Church, and their deeply held religious beliefs, Plaintiffs do not believe that contraception, sterilization, or abortion are properly understood to constitute medicine, health care, or a means of providing for the well being of persons. Indeed, Plaintiffs believe these procedures involve gravely immoral practices, specifically the intentional destruction of innocent human life.